Gabbing with Gabriel

Blazer scout and ex-Orland GM John Gabriel answers a few questions from Ken Hornack of the Dayton Beach News-Journal during last week's game in Orlando. Here's what John had to say:

You're now an NBA scout for the Portland Trail Blazers. Describe your job.

The job has been to evaluate NBA talent on the court. There are other scouts who diagram the plays that the other teams run. My job is more to evaluate the talent, man for man, with specific attention to players who are going to be free agents. And because all the teams play in Orlando and Miami, I can see everybody right here. So my scouting geography isn't that wide. I can stay very close to home.

Anything else?

The other area that they lean upon me for is, because I've had 25 years in the NBA and a dozen of them as a GM, I'll be involved in trade discussions.

Does that mean a return to the 16-hour workdays you used to put in at this time of year before the trading deadline?

Kevin Pritchard (the Blazers' director of player personnel) and Steve Patterson (their president), from talking with Nate McMillan (their coach), really execute the deals. I'm just a small sounding board in a room of people making the big decisions.

When were you last in Portland?

I actually was there last week for some meetings where we got our scouts from Iowa, Alabama and Milan, Italy, and evaluated where we are at this time and how close we are to zeroing in on the players we like in college, as well as in free agency.

If the Blazers were in the Eastern Conference, would they make the playoffs this year?

They might have a chance. They've played well together. They're young. They remind me very much of the (Magic's) heart-and-hustle team (in 1999-2000).

Any reason you can pinpoint as to why Zach Randolph was left off the West All-Star team?

No. 1, there's a lot of great players out there. Sometimes geography comes into play, seeing some of the players who were a little more familiar nationally. And there's no doubt that his off-court problems in the past have hurt his popularity.

Do you ever see Brian Hill or anyone else in the Magic organization socially?

I went into the locker room to see Brian before the game (Wednesday night). I speak to him and (assistant coach) Tom Sterner regularly. They're all still part of my family network.

Anyone who thinks scouting is easy is out of their minds. My spot in press row at the Rose Garden is right behind the opposing scout's seat, and I've often watched them work during the game. They're working furiously the whole time on paper, on a computer and with binoculars. It's tough, and that doesn't even count the travel.